A Brave New World
by CROWHAVEN
Summary: After the Cullens leave Bella unprotected, Victoria decides to attack. Being close to death, Bella has a choice to make. Should she give in to the darkness and die or should she embrace a different kind of immortality that she never knew of. Set Pre-Season 1 & NM.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: Characters, setting, plots, etc. are the property of Stephanie Meyer, CW, and other parties involved in the production of Twilight and The Vampire Diaries.

* * *

Isabella Swan sat in her room, looking out of her window to the typical rainy day in Forks, Washington. During the last two weeks, she had felt extremely numb but she knew that it had to stop. She had to keep moving forward. It wasn't fair for anyone, especially her.

She couldn't dwell in the past. He had moved on, so it was only right for her to do so as well.

Taking a deep breath, she rose from the old rocking chair and began to pace

'When have I ever let a guy define me?' she thought to herself. She had been too dependent of Edward Cullen for so long that she realized that she began to lose herself. And look at her now. She was in a state of depression, sitting like a vegetable as she gazed out the window into the pouring rain. This was definitely a new development. She always thought that girls that believed their world revolved around a guy were stupid and naive. Yes, this was definitely never how she imagined show would act.

What the hell was the matter with her?

Was she going to be one of the cliche girls who think that losing a boyfriend is the end of the world? Was she going to let herself continue to worry for family and friends because she lost a boyfriend that lasted half a year, if that?

But deep down, she knew that Edward was different. And it was not just because he was a vampire. He often made her feel complete. He made her feel safe. It always seemed to her that he was her soul mate. Had she been wrong?

He definitely didn't seem to think that anymore. She was no longer a distraction for him. He never cared as much for her as she did for him no matter what he had tried to make her believe.

With a groan, she stripped down to her under clothes and pulled on some jeans and a warm sweater. Finally, she tugged on some boots and went out to the forest.

It was dark and damp, but the trees above managed to stop most of the rain from pouring down on her. She walked in silence for a few minutes before straying from the path a little to sit on a fallen tree a few feet away. It was the same tree that she had sat when she found out what the Cullens were. It seemed to make a full circle, she supposed. She needed to clear her head and this seemed the perfect place to do so.

The first thing that she needed to do was get back her friends.

Honestly, they couldn't really fault her for being depressed the last two weeks. She had lost her boyfriend, her best friend, and—even though they didn't really know—her family. It was the life that she had chosen to live not too long ago, and it was completely ripped away from her. She didn't even get proper goodbyes, but that was probably for the best. She shuddered to think of the water works that would be sure to happen if she had to say goodbye to Alice, Carlisle, or Esme.

But he friends would forgive her. At least, she hoped they would.

She also needed to make things right with Charlie and Renee. She couldn't imagine how they had been feeling lately. She was always supposed to be strong. She had always been the 'suffer in silence' type of girl. Yes, she was silent, but her silence was screaming louder than she had been the first couple of days. She felt both shame and embarrassment creeping into her and making her cheeks burn bright red.

Before she could think of it much more, she heard a rustling coming from the trees behind her. She rose and whirled around quickly and felt her heart stutter in her chest before it began to beat twice as fast as normal . . .

It was Victoria.

She could easily recognize the red hair that flickered in the wind, like fire, and the graceful, cat-like crouch that she sank into. Her eyes had a malicious glint sparkling in them and she knew she was in trouble.

Bella swallowed roughly and back up against a tree. She hoped that Victoria was alone and no one was going to creep behind her and attack her, but she couldn't be too sure. For every step Bella took back, Victoria seemed to advance. The cat had the canary corned.

"Hello, Isabella," Victoria spoke, her voice a high soprano that startled Bella. Bella had really thought that her voice would be deeper, a purr that would fit with her fierce looks more, but she was wrong. It was musical and it would fit better with the image of a blonde girl wearing a cheer skirt. Her voice was as beautiful as any of the Cullens had been. It definitely scared her more than she would ever admit. As Victoria continued to advance, Bella began to hyperventilate. She was never once for panicking, but she knew that Victoria wasn't here for anything good. When she opened her mouth to speak, she only managed to make a gurgling sound which caused the vampire to smirk. "Well, I'm glad that I managed to find you here, Isabella."

Bella only mumbled something incoherently and moved to the side slowly, towards her house. He chances of escape were slim, but she still had to try. She knew that.

Victoria noticed what she was doing and quickly blurred over to her, grabbing Bella by her throat and pinning her back to the tree. "Now, where do you think you're going, Bella?" she taunted, the malicious glint still in her eyes. "We need to talk. Or I'll talk while you listen, if you prefer."

The next moment, Bella felt herself flying before her back crashed into something roughly, knocking the wind out of her. She looked up at Victoria before once again being pinned to a tree.

"You see, your little boyfriend and his family killed my mate, Bella. And someone needs to pay." Again, Bella felt herself fly and hit another tree, except this time she felt a burning pain along her spine and the branches stabbed into her. She gave a muffled shout that only seemed to encourage the vampire. "I've never been a tracker, so I can't find your boyfriend and his family. I know it wouldn't do any good to attack them, though. I'm alone and there are seven of them. But I need to do something so that he and his brothers pay for what they did to James."

Bella felt Victoria's stone hands on her arm for a moment before a loud crack echoed in the forest. This time, she couldn't stifle her shout. It was agony. "I got in touch with my old coven mate, Laurent. He told me that the Cullens were in Denali, so I figured I'd come back to this town and harm the man that the one called Esme was guarding. I didn't know that they had left you behind. It seems that you were nothing but a pet to them, but this still is oddly satisfying."

Bella felt a sharp kick and yelled again as Victoria's foot connected to her ribs, the force sending her back against the fallen tree. Panting heavily, she tried to scramble away on her hands and knees, but Victoria was enjoying herself too much to let her prey get away.

"No, no, child. Where do you think you're going?"

There was a sharp burning on her scalp as Victoria bragged Bella up by her hair. Bella stood, leaning against the trees for support, before Victoria back-handed her roughly and pounced on her. She lifted her arm and smashed her fist against Bella's sore ribs. There crack and the strangled sobs echoed through the trees. "There is more where that came from."

The whispered promised echoed tauntingly in her head before Victoria continued her fun.

On and on it went with Victoria never letting herself bite her. No, she would be the one to make her scream, not the burning that would start if she allowed her venom to enter her system. She wanted to destroy the girl not turn her. So, she needed to make the game last before she drained every ounce of blood from her system.

Suddenly, there was a snarl to the right. It was deep and dangerous. Victoria knew that it was time to go. Before Victoria could move, there was a dark blur in front of her. The dark shadow didn't slow so she couldn't get a good look at him. As she turned to run, the shadow ripped her arms off her body. Little by little, Victoria was torn to pieces. The shadow was determined to make her suffer as she had made the girl suffer minutes prior.

Bella could feel the heat of a fire burning nearby as she was fought off the blackness that threatened to consume her. She couldn't give up, but she could barely move. The pain was leaving her, and she knew that her end was near.

She heard a soft voice speaking near her ear as something began to press against her mouth.

"Common, little Swan, drink up." The voice was deep with a hint of arrogance and definitely male, but the smell drove everything from her mind. It was the rusty smell of blood, but she swallowed compulsively and felt the warm trickle in her throat. It was disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. Bella knew it was even in her state, but she continued to drink until the arm was taken away.

She felt soft fingers run through her hair before stroking down her cheek to her jaw. She would have fought them off, but they felt very relaxing. Finally, they stroked her neck soothingly while the other hand cupped her cheek. For an instant, Bella felt the fingers tighten before her neck was pushed roughly to the side. A snap . . . a quick burn . . . then Bella knew no more.


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: Characters, setting, plots, etc. are the property of Stephanie Meyer, CW, and other parties involved in the production of Twilight and The Vampire Diaries.

* * *

As she woke, a headache was the first thing that registered in Bella's mind before the other aches made themselves known. Her neck stung, her throat felt dry, and her gums burned.

When she finally managed to open her eyes, she realized that she was in an unfamiliar room. The curtains were closed so she couldn't really make out every detail, but she knew that it wasn't her room. She rose unsteadily to her feet and was about to pull the curtains open when the door to the room closed with a loud slam.

"Finally awake," a slightly familiar voice spoke behind her. When she turned, she knew that she didn't know the man. He had brown hair so dark that it was almost black, the most astonishing blue eyes that she had ever seen, and a smirk that looked like it belonged on his face. He was wearing black boots with black jeans, a black shirt that emphasized his broad chest, and a black leather jacket. In his hand he had a bottle with an amber liquid—some type of whiskey, she figured—and two crystal glasses.

Bella wanted to back away, but she felt frozen. He wasn't attacking her, but she was still wary. She didn't know this guy so she was definitely not going to trust him. After a long pause, she managed to whisper, "Who are you?"

He served both glasses and handed one to Bella. "Name's Damon," he stated nonchalantly as he took a gulp of the whiskey. Damon walked past her and got on the bed, putting one arm behind his head before looking back at Bella. He raised one eyebrow and continued to stare at her, so Bella took this as an invitation to ask more questions.

"Why am I here?" she managed to choke out. Her throat was still burning and her stomach was starting to hurt. She was hungry. Knowing that she would probably regret it, she took a gulp from her cup and managed to choke it down. Yes, it was definitely a mistake. It didn't really do much to help with her throat.

"Well, I found you being attacked by a vampire." He added air quotes as he said the word 'vampire' and for some reason it made her smile a little. "Well, it wasn't nice. You were bleeding a lot and had too many broken bones. You were nearly dead. I managed to kill that fairy, but you were dying. Why was she attacking you, anyways? Usually, her type just go in for the kill."

In that instant, everything came staggering back. The depression, the anger, the pain. She unsuccessfully choked back a sob before downing her drink. She gave Damon a quick rundown of what happened as she poured herself another glass of the whiskey. As she told her story, what he told her finally sank in. "What do you mean you killed Victoria? Only vampires can kill them, that I know of."

This only made him scoff.

"Yes, only vampires can kill them, and luckily I am one."

Bella shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You're not a vampire. As you can see, I know about vampires."

This time, Damon rolled his eyes and began to laugh. "No, little Swan, you know of the cold ones. They are experiments gone wrong. The witches wanted to create something to get rid off . . . well, I guess you can call us pure-bloods. It didn't actually work out for them. They were too weak, to crazed. They couldn't control themselves. In three simple words, they were savages. Most of them were destroyed, but some are still around. They tend to run when they sense us, but they usually can't."

Bella nodded her head as the conversation she had with Edward on their first 'date' crossed her mind. "So, you're a 'pure-blood'?" When she got a nod, she sank into a chair. "Do you have fangs?"

This definitely seemed to amuse Damon. Instead of answering, he looked down. When he raised his face back towards Bella, she nearly fell out of her seat. Yes, he definitely had fangs. Also, the veins around his eyes also stood out against his pale skin. It was definitely terrifying, but it didn't last too long. Damon quickly got control of his expression and continued to smirk. "Anymore questions?"

"Can you come out during the daytime without . . ."

". . . sparkling?" He smirked as he finished the sentence for her. "Trust me, I don't sparkle." He didn't wait for her to answer as he continued. "We can come out in the sun, but only with a special ring. It's called lapis lazuli. It has to be charmed by a witch, though, or it doesn't do anything. Without it, we will definitely burn in the sun. But, it's okay to come out during the day if it's really cloudy or it's raining."

Bella nodded her head slowly. Yes, that was definitely more like the myths that she had heard of. "Okay, do you sleep in coffins?"

At this, Damon laughed so hard that he almost choked. "If some vampire wants to sleep in a coffin, they can go ahead and do it. I prefer my comfortable bed with silk sheets."

"So, you do sleep?"

"Of course. I would have too much spare time on my hands if I didn't."

Bella took a deep breath before asking the most important question. "Um, what do you eat?"

Damon seemed to be considering this question for a while before finally answering. "I like burgers—especially with lots of pickles—french fries . . . actually, I eat pretty much anything. I like to drink, especially bourbon." Damon raised his glass and took a swig and Bella was glad to finally put a name to the drink. "Oh, and of course, I have to drink blood."

Bella swallowed more of her bourbon and reclined as far as possible on her chair. "Do you kill to drink or do you hunt animals?"

"Oh, I can't hunt animals. My brother does, though. I keep telling him that one day, all the creatures in the woods are going to unite and go after him. But, no, I don't always have to kill to drink from someone."

Bella's eyes widened. "But wouldn't that turn them?"

"No. To turn someone into a vampire, they have to have blood in their system and then die." He gazed steadily at Bella as he said that and she finally understood. That was why he was answering all her questions. He had told her that she was so close to death. She remembered something warm running down her throat.

Bella clutched the armrest of the chair and took many steadying breaths. "So, I'm a . . ."

"No, you're in transition. You can choose to become a vampire or not. If you decide to change, you have to drink blood. If you don't, you die. Like I said, you were dying anyways. I just decided to give you a choice. Don't ask why because I really don't understand why I did it."

"So, if I want to change, I have to kill someone?" She knew that she was starting to sound hysterical, but she couldn't help it. How could she do this?

"Like I said, you don't have to kill the person. Bite them and I'll stop you before you drain them. There's a little trick that you'll learn where you can make people forget whatever you want. You could control their minds, you could say. You can feed and have them think that they fell in the woods or something. They'll never know what really happened."

Bella's eyebrows rose as he continued to talk. "You want me to control people? You do know that this was how this all started for me, right? I told you that part of the story, how E-Ed-Edward tried to control me. He tried to make all my decisions for me. I know that he meant well, but it's pretty much the same thing."

Damon stood, pulling Bella to her feet as tears managed to escape. She tried to pull away and make the tears stop, but she couldn't. "I know how you feel, Bella. When I was turned, I lost the one person that I loved. It killed me to know that I could live an eternity and that she wouldn't be there. I decided not to feed, but my brother . . . convinced me, I guess you could say. There's another little trick that I found out when I finished the transition. I could turn off my emotions. All the pain of losing her, all the anger at my brother . . . that was all gone. You can do it, too."

The last part stopped Bella's retort. Being able to forget all of this pain? That sounded too good to be true. Damon seemed to realize that his words affected Bella because he stopped talking and let her think. After some more silence, Damon decided to continue.

"If you don't want to feed from a human, you can drink from blood bags. Or, if you decide, you can drink from poor Bambi. It definitely doesn't taste the same, though. It's really repulsive. An acquired taste, I guess. You can decide how you want to live, if you want to live."

Finally, Bella nodded. She was going through with it. She looked up at Damon and took his outstretched hand, following him into the night.

Damon and Bella managed to stumble upon a few guys that were harassing women as they passed by, so Bella made her move. After feeding, Bella concentrated before she managed to feel oddly indifferent. It was weird, but she liked it. She felt powerful. Damon kept his word so the pigs didn't die, but they were compelled to never harass a woman again. Bella looked at Damon and smiled.

"I really love that I don't have to worry about my eyes being different or turning into a piece of stone. Can I go through my normal routine?"

"I don't see why not. I'll help you control yourself. We can work on it the entire weekend, but we should probably get you home. Your father must be worried."

Bella reluctantly nodded before running back to the room. "Are we running back to Forks or do you have a car?"

"I've got a car, so let's get going."

After a few minutes, they were sitting comfortably inside a beautiful car. Bella was never one for cars, but this one definitely caught her eye. "What kind of car is this?"

Damon smirked as he began to drive. "It's a '69 Chevy Camaro. I would put the top down, but the rain might ruin the interior."

After a short drive, which was filled mostly with silence, they pulled up into a familiar driveway. The lights were on and Bella noticed the curtains closing. Damon turned to Bella and told her about another vampire trait.

"Vampires need to be invited into houses to enter. I'm sure you'll be able to get in here. Not because you live there, but because your father is angry. He might make you go in, but we might have to compel your father to let me in."

As if on cue, the front door was flung open and they could hear Charlie's loud voice. "ISABELLA MARIE SWAN! COME INSIDE! NOW!"

Bella smiled. "That's an invite. Give me a second, okay." She got out of the car and ran past Charlie. "I'm so sorry dad, I didn't mean to worry you."

"It's almost midnight! Your curfew is ten. Do you know how worried I've been? I come home to find a note saying that you went out with a friend and that you'll be back later. I've been up and waiting for you. With how you've been acting lately I wasn't sure what to expect to happen to you. I have half a mind to—"

"Dad, I'm sorry," Bella interrupted. "I should've borrowed Damon's phone and called you when we were on our way. We just lost track of time." Bella could see her father about to start yelling again, so she cut him off. "Damon is fine, dad. Really. Maybe you could invite him in and talk to him." The last part needed a little compulsion to work, but she needed her father to invite Damon in if he was going to help her.

After a short conversation, Damon left and Bella went to bed. She knew one thing . . . school on Monday was definitely going to be interesting.

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**A/N: **This is as far as I got on AO3. I'm already working on the next chapter and I'll have it up on Friday.


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: Characters, setting, plots, etc. are the property of Stephanie Meyer, CW, and other parties involved in the production of Twilight and The Vampire Diaries.

* * *

There were many things that Bella liked about being a vampire. Her favorite part was definitely the speed. She knew that she would now hate the limitations on her truck but she didn't really want to get rid of it. The truck had character and she loved it but she was beginning to consider getting something faster for when she needed to get out of Forks.

Of course not everything was going to end up being one hundred percent great. There were things that she would have to get used to: having to count on a ring to walk in the sun, having to have an invitation to go into anyone's home, they way her hormones and emotions were all over the place unless she shut them down, but the main thing was her bloodlust. She was able to suppress it when she had gotten home on Saturday, but she had no idea how she would be able to control it when she went back to school.

Maybe she would find a plaything, she did have a few suitors, after all.

The thought of having Mike Newton or Tyler Crowley as a blood bag was really tempting. She could finally get Newton to shut up and stop panting after her like a golden retriever and with Crowley it would be about shutting Lauren Mallory up, who still glared at her for something that was out of her reach. Then she would have a real reason for her scorn. Ideas on how to approach one of them began to form in her mind. Damon seemed not to care if she drained her victims and got rid of their bodies, but Bella still had a year before she graduated. She couldn't have cops running around with missing person cases but the thought of drinking them until there was nothing left had tempted Bella while hunting on Sunday.*

She was a little wary because Damon had left Sunday night to Canada. There was a witch there that would be able to get her a ring so she would be able to walk out in the sun and she really didn't want to be locked inside anymore. She could probably walk outside because it was usually rare for the sun to shine in Forks, but she didn't really want to risk it. She would wait until it was dark before she went out to feed. For now, she would find things to do inside.

Monday . . . Tuesday . . . Wednesday . . . Thursday

By Friday, Bella was about ready to rip out Damon's throat. She had gotten calls from her friends and made excuses of being sick (which Charlie had verified) but she was tired of being locked inside with nothing to do. She was going to go crazy if Damon didn't get back soon.

Breaking out of her thoughts, she sensed someone moving around behind her and she whirled around, not exactly surprised when there was nothing there. She didn't have to guess who it was, only one other vampire had been invited into her home.

Bella was agitated already, so she couldn't help but growl.

"Damon, I'm sick and tired of being stuck here, so just give me the damn ring or I'll shove a stake in your chest!"

Of course, he wasn't really going to make it that easy. He played with her for a few moments before he had her pinned to the wall smirking as Bella tried to get free.

"Don't be angry, little Swan," he taunted. "I wouldn't want to have to get rid of your ring."

The thought of him destroying her only chance of getting out caused her to glare at Damon, but she stopped fighting. She waited for Damon to release her and her eyes widened when he took out the ring. It was definitely beautiful. It was silver, the pattern on the base weaving beautifully. The blue Lapis Lazuli stone was in the center, a square made of move silver with something that slightly resembled a flower was in the center.** She slid it onto her middle finger and admired it before grinning at Damon.

"You don't know how much it sucked being stuck inside this house in the mornings. I felt like a cliche vampire only being able to come out at night to feed on unsuspecting victims."

She gave him a cheeky smile before running around and opening the curtains that had been closed the entire week.

"You know, I've never asked, why do you call me 'little Swan'?"

Damon moved to lounge on her couch, flicking through the channels without really seeing what was on. "Pretty obvious, isn't it?" Without glancing away from the television, Damon smirked and continued before she could interrupt. "I make it my business to know nearly everything, little Swan, even your name," he teased. "Now, go get dressed. We have a busy weekend ahead of us."

She glanced down and grimaced when she noticed that she was still in her torn pajamas. "Can we go to the bank first? I know you prefer to use compulsion—oh, sorry, I mean 'your charm'—to get everything free, but I'd rather not. I have some money saved up and I want to get a few things."

Damon raised an eyebrow, but simply nodded and went back to channel surfing.

A few minutes later, Bella came down in simple jeans, a blue tee, and a brown sweater. They went out to Damon's Camaro and headed to the bank.

Damon had decided to wait in the car and he chuckled when Bella stepped out with an angry scowl on her face.

"What now?" he asked, his smirk causing Bella's scowl to deepen.

She quickly took a deep breath and flashed Damon a mock-surprised. "You can never guess the great news, Damon," she stated, sarcasm heavy in her tone while a fake smile spread across her face. "I used to have around fifteen hundred in my account, but now it's up twenty grand. How great is that? I got a scholarship that is 'very rare' and only awarded to those who don't qualify for financial aide. Something called 'Pacific Northwest Trust'. Ever heard of it?" Her anger had lost her mocking tone and was cold and angry now. Damon let his smirk widen, having guessed where the money might have come from while shaking his head. "No, I thought not. Oh, and it gets better. An extra five thousand a month will be added until I graduate from college."***

She growled angrily and clenched her fist. "He said that he would leave. I don't need to be his charity case because I didn't get money for college." She took a deep breath and a slight smirk appeared on her face. "But what's the point of wasting the money by giving it back, right? Think that maybe going to a car dealership can be added to our busy weekend?"

Damon shrugged. "I'm sure we can squeeze it in quickly. What are you planning on getting?"

Bella's smirk widened. "Oh, you'll see."

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The first thing on the list was definitely to feed. Bella had a pretty basic plan when it came to feeding and Damon being back wasn't going to change what she was used to doing.

She pressed her back to the wall outside a small bar in Port Angeles. When the door opened, she grinned when a man was thrown out before putting on an innocent girl charade and began to walk in his direction. She began glancing around 'nervously' as she passed him letting out a 'relieved' breath when he didn't talk to her. When she heard footsteps following her, she smirked and turned into an alley. She could feel this man's excitement and it repulsed her. This man lived for this—like the others had—but this guy seemed to enjoy more than the others.

When a hand grasped her arm and shoved her into the wall, she acted like a scared victim and cried out.

'NO! Leave me alone!" She struggled against this man, loving the way that his jugular was a few inches from her mouth and the way his blood was pumping with the effort he was putting on restraining her. So, she thrashed and managed to scratch her nails against his face, leaving marks and drawing blood. That seemed to definitely get him angry, so she began to cry. "Please, I didn't do anyth—"

But he cut her off by striking her face. With Bella on the floor sobbing, the man seemed to feel empowered. He dragged Bella up by her hair and growled in her face.

"You better be a good little bitch or I can make it hurt a lot worse," he taunted with a smirk coming across his face. "You're not my first and you won't be the last. I like them to fight, but if you try to scream or if you sink your claws into me again I will just make it last a lot longer." But this didn't seem to scare the girl. If anything, she seemed to grow a smirk of her own. The unnamed attacker gulped and Bella's smirk widened at the way his Adam's apple bobbed. She met his eyes and forced him not to look away.

"You've had a little fun and now it's my turn. You will not cry out while I tear your throat out but you _will_ feel all of the pain. You will silently pray for mercy but it will never come, just like all of those girls that you spoke of. And don't worry, it isn't my claws that you need to worry about." And with that, the man saw the face of his victim morph into the face of a monster before she lunged forward and sunk her fangs into his neck.

He thrashed and silently cried out but it only made her bite harder. She began to feel him slacken and was about to withdraw when a voice spoke from behind her.

"Little Swan, you might want to stop if you don't want to kill him."

She turned her head instantly, only to have actually torn the man's throat out. Bella growled lightly before turning to Damon. "I've been used to being alone when I go feed, you probably shouldn't sneak up on me like that." She looked down in distaste as _her_ victim choked on his blood and died. "Time for damage control, I suppose." She licked her lips at blood flowing and felt her fangs extend again before she tore her eyes from him and took a deep breath. "Think he had anyone waiting for him?"

Damon knelt down by the dead man and cocked his head. "Doubt it. He obviously did these kinds of things often so he wouldn't have any form of commitment." He smirked up at Bella while continuing. "Trust me, I would know." His smirk fell while he stood up. "We could throw his body to a bear or a mountain lion in the woods or something."

Damon was gone with the body as soon as she nodded and then she felt it. She became vulnerable because it was her first kill. She had killed someone. She might have saved some people from being this man's next victim but she ended the man's life. She was supposed to do what she had done to the others: feed them her blood to heel the cuts easily, wait a few hours for her blood to leave their systems by shutting them in her house and entertaining herself with them by chasing them around and making them believe that they could escape her, then compel them to forget ever meeting her before sending them to turn themselves in to police departments outside of Forks.

But now what? She felt her emotions begin to overwhelm her in her moment of weakness before shutting that door firmly. Who cared if this man died? He was nothing but a blood bag for her to play with. Damon was right. Damon was _always_ right. Who was she to try to deny what she was? Again the image of Mike Newton popped into her head and she smirked, more resolved than ever to have Mike to keep her occupied when needed.

When Damon returned, he felt a smirk cross his face at her appearance. Her eyes were cold and uncaring and her posture was more sure. This was what he wanted, someone who was willing to have fun with what they were and not having to worry about humanity. He held his hand out for her, raising a brow in challenge and his smirk widened when she took it.

* * *

**A/N: **I had meant to have this posted on Friday before I left to California to the weekend and I'm sorry that I didn't. I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can. Please excuse typos and grammar errors, I don't have a beta to go over it so all mistakes are my own.

* - Please understand that Bella will be out of character in the beginning. Her mentor _is _Damon Salvatore, after all. But, she will be meeting other vampires soon and she'll calm down a little.

** - I couldn't really think of something original for her ring, so I used Caroline's ring in TVD.

*** - If you have not read Stephenie Meyer's short 'The Scholarship' you will not understand this. If you want to read it, go on her site and under the New Moon category, click on outtakes. It should be towards the bottom along with another few short stories.

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I will be sending out responses to my reviews, but below will be the ones that weren't signed in when leaving them. I would look for those pages by searching the names they used as an alias, but what if it isn't their account. It would be very embarrassing it I sent someone a response and they had no idea what I was talking about. xD

**Clarabelle:** Don't know why I decided to go with Damon, I just did. He's one of my favorite characters. And, yes, she definitely needed the ring. :)

**Amy:** Yes, he is awesome isn't he? And I'm sorry I didn't update on Friday like I promised. :/

**scardycat: **I know, I felt the same way. Jasper had one slip and they leave knowing that there are vampires that know about Bella. And, yeah, it's set pre-season 1. I should probably write it on the summary, yes? Um, Damon will be leaving for Mystic Falls soon.

**sherry:** I'm really glad that you like it. :D

Also, thanks to everyone who added this story to their alerts and/or favorites, it means a lot to me. :D

~ CROWHAVEN,


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: Characters, setting, plots, etc. are the property of Stephanie Meyer, CW, and other parties involved in the production of Twilight and The Vampire Diaries.

* * *

It was pretty dead in Port Angeles, so Damon and Bella agreed to head up to Seattle instead. It was bigger and they would be able to get what they needed to much easier.

Bella left Damon to handle some 'business' that needed to be done while she went to a local dealership to look for something more suitable than her old truck. Unfortunately, none of the cars caught her interest. What did she want? Did she maybe want a classic car like Damon's Camaro?

With a groan, she headed to other dealerships, never finding what she was looking for.

Finally, she found it. Only, it wasn't a car.

'_Don't do anything reckless or stupid,_' Edward had ordered her.

Those where two of the best words to describe the sleek black motorcycle that caught her eye. Slowly—as if in a trance—she made her way towards it. After quickly calling a dealer over, she finally got a name for the motorcycle that became her new obsession—a Suzuki Hayabusa Gen II.* After much negotiating and nearly $20k spent, Bella finally straddled her new bike and put on her helmet. She knew that it was going to be hard for her to learn to drive, but she was determined. She had never wanted anything more and she was glad that she was able to get it.

After ridding for a few minutes, she finally managed to get the hang of it and she laughed before accelerating out of the city and into the streets surrounded by dark trees. She sped through the dark, nearly hitting 200mph before double-backing back to the city. She decided to do something that she would normally never be caught dead doing. She was going to go shopping.

Her appearance didn't matter much to her—it never had—but whenever she saw people riding motorcycles in movies, the always looked mysterious when they were in all black. So that's what she wanted, to be mysterious—or at least look it.

She stopped in front of a pretty deserted bar and walked up to a man walking in her direction. He wasn't leering at her, if anything he didn't seem to notice her. That was perfect. When she reached him, she pulled him down to eye level.

"I need you to do a favor for me. If anyone comes close to my bike, I need you to keep them away. It's brand new and I don't want it damaged. Can you do that for me?" When he nodded, she smiled in thanks before heading off to the closest stores.

After about an hour, her old clothes were in the trash and she was wearing black jeans, a black shirt, and her own black leather jacket. She had wanted to take Damon's the first time she had seen it but she figured that he would probably rip her heard out if she touched it, so she was glad that she now had her own. She also bought some black boots and put on some eyeliner—the extent of her makeup.

She was also carrying some bags that contained a few shirts and jeans and a khaki jacket that she could wear during the week. She had wanted to get more but she couldn't carry that many bags without looking suspicious. She would have to come back with her truck later in the week to get more.

Bella ran her fingers through her hair before shrugging and left it alone. She walked back to where her bike was parked and smirked at the sight. The man she compelled was in the middle of a brawl with two other bikers and he was _literally_ doing anything to keep her bike protected. The two bikers were a lot bigger than him but he was still up. Well, she supposed that she should thank him. She went up to the bikers and easily pulled them off of her little helper.

"You will leave him alone, is that understood? If you ever see him again you will head in the opposite direction. If you see anyone coming near him you will take care of them. He is now under my protection and you don't want to mess with me. Got that?" When they nodded, she let them go. "Good. Now you can go."

She turned back to the man she had originally compelled and for the first time actually took him in. He had blond hair and brown eyes. He was tall, just a bit taller than Edward and he was very handsome. He had some scratches and some bruises were starting to form, but it didn't do much to take away from his appearance.

"Thank you for taking care of my bike," Bella stated, making her smile as polite as possible.

"You asked me to do it," he answered with a shrug. "I'm Riley Biers."**

"Bella Swan," she responded. She bit her lip and thought some things through. Making a decision, she glanced up at him through her lashes. "Maybe I can see you again?"

He would be a better suitor than Mike Newton or Tyler Crowley. Or at least if she decided to come back up to Seattle. She still needed someone during the week and getting a meal from a bag was pretty unappealing. At least she wasn't hunting animals. How the Cullens denied who they were sent a shiver down her spine. Animal blood sounded disgusting.

She was brought out of her musings when he nodded.

"Definitely. What's your number?"

Mentally cursing herself, she sighed. "I don't have a cell phone. But give me your number and I'll text you when I get one." At his skeptical look, she grinned. "I have a good memory and I'm actually headed to get one right now."

With a nod, he gave her his number and they parted ways. Bella wasn't lying when she said that she was getting a phone. Heading towards the closest Verizon store, she was easily able to compel the worker to get her a phone. Grinning, she typed in Riley's number and saved it before sending him a text.

To: Riley Biers,  
_I told you I was getting a phone. Call me sometime. -Bella_

A few seconds later, she got a response.

From Riley Biers,  
_So, you do have a good memory. That's good to know. And I'll definitely be calling you. -Riley_

Placing her phone in her pocket, she got back on her bike and went to met back up with Damon. When she reached the rendezvous point, she smirked at Damon while she parked her bike in the empty space beside his Camaro.

"I see that you got something faster," Damon stated in his cocky tone. When Bella opened her mouth to respond, he added, "Of course, almost everything is faster than that truck of yours."

Closing her mouth and narrowing her eyes, Bella decided to let that go. No one would ever stop making fun of her truck so there was no point on arguing about it. Not that she had much to say besides 'Don't make fun of my truck', of course.

"I'm hungry, so let's go." And together they headed back into the crowded streets looking for easy prey.

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Damon and Bella continued to lure people into the shadows for the remainder of the night. Bella honestly was already done for the night, but it was being stronger and more powerful than those men that would've wasted no time in terrorizing other women that made her stay. Her bloodlust wasn't easily quenched but she was satisfied with the amount she had feed. Finally, they both agreed to go back to Bella's home and together they headed back to where they parked their rides.

When they had almost reached them, someone screamed from nearby. Bella managed to grab Damon before he headed that way and smirked when he shrugged and let her go instead. She arrived at the back of an abandoned building and took in the sight. There was a girl that had to be in her early twenties covered in blood on the ground with an older man hovering near her holding a knife smirking as he carved something onto the skin against her heart.

Oh, she knew who this man was. She had actually been following his work over the news and she was happy to have finally found him. She waited silently in the shadows for him to finish before clearing her throat. The man's eyes darted up and an evil leer made it's way onto his face as he took Bella in.

She waited until his eyes met hers before she was the one to smirk. She looked back down to the blood still gushing out of the dying girl and felt her fangs extend. The man took in one look at the fangs and the prominent veins surrounding Bella's eyes and stumbled back a step in surprise before catching himself, causing Bella to look back up at him.

"Don't scream," she whispered. "Stay right there and don't talk. Any noise that you make will make this worse for you."

The man opened his mouth with a scathing reply only to have nothing come out. His hands came up to his neck and he stared at Bella with wide narrowed eyes before attempting to take a step and make her his next victim. He didn't care that she was some sort of demon, no one had bested him yet and he wasn't going to let this girl be the one to do it. When his foot wouldn't come up, he glanced back up at her again only to see her kneeling beside his previous victim and sink those fangs into one of the gashes that he had made. The barely moving woman completely went slack after a few seconds and Bella looked up, blood still running down her chin.

"Thank you for that," she said softly, rising back to her feet and slowly making her was towards the still immobile man. "I made sure not to take too much so people wouldn't notice much difference between your last murder and this one. I've been following your work." She ran her fingertips lightly against his jugular with an innocent smile before leaning up and lightly scrapping her fangs against it. Her lips curled up to a smirk at his nearly inaudible whimper. "But I can't have you running around anymore. I'm taking enough people as it is, so we can't have you taking lives that belong to _me_, now can we?"

Bella sank her fangs into the man's neck before pulling back just as quickly with a bright smile on her face. "No, I have a better idea." She pulled the man down at eye level and compelled her new victim.

"I want you to run. Make for the woods and go in as far as you can. I'll give you to a hundred before I come after you, okay? You might make it if you're fast enough. But you have to remember, you can't scream?"

She ran her tongue across her lips and tasted the blood there before covering her eyes playfully. "One... Two... Three... Four..."

The man didn't need her to count any further before running towards the trees behind them.

Bella smirked and continued to count aloud. Finally reaching a hundred, she began to walk in the direction that she knew he was. She walked a few more seconds before being completely secluded and raised her voice. "Ready or not, here I come."

Then she began to run. It took only a few seconds for her to come up to the man hiding behind a tree. She let out a deep sigh and the man whirled around. "I should have told you not to stop, this isn't nearly as fun as I thought it would be." Letting out another sigh she began to make her way closer to the man backing into the tree. He was too quiet for her taste now so she decided to continue the chase instead. "You can scream now. In fact, I would prefer it. A blood curling scream coming from your lips as I feast on your blood is just what I need. So scream and I'll give you another head start. And _don't_ stop running. Understood?"

The man nodded frantically before turning and running. And on went the chase. She gave him a head start before appearing in front of him only to have him stumble backwards and continue to run. This was exhilarating. If only he was faster. Finally tired of her chase, she blurred in front of her victim once more before flinging him into a tree. Blood was trickling down his throat and the aroma was so intoxicating that she licked her fangs and zeroed in on his jugular.

"I could make it not hurt, but what's the fun of that? Scream, flail, try to push me away, do anything that you think might keep you alive understood?" And she sank her fangs once more into him and bled him dry.

As she finished, Bella felt someone behind her. A grin spread across her face as she took in Damon leaning against a tree not far away. He made his way slowly towards her without a word and stood in front of her in a matter of seconds. His piercing blue eyes locked to her brown ones as he lowered his face and lightly ran his tongue across her bottom lip, never breaking eye contact.***

With her emotions heightened, the feel of his tongue on her drove her wild with want. She _wanted_ him. Though she was usually a lot more reserved, she didn't stop. She blurred, dragging him with her and pressing him against a tree. Damon was never one to be dominated so he quickly pinned her against another tree before crashing his lips against her's, relishing in the taste of blood on her lips.

His lips trailed down to her neck, scattering teasing bites and kisses in various spots before tracing his tongue down her jugular. Oh how tempted he was to sink his fangs into her neck... to taste her blood but it was way to intimate and Damon didn't want to go there with anyone any time soon.

Bella pushed Damon back for a second and took a deep breath.

"I know you said that my emotions would be all over the place, but I didn't know it was going to be this bad."

Damon took her face between his hands and stared steadily into her eyes, as if to compel her. "Don't think about it, Little Swan, just go with what you want. Don't hold back anything."

Slowly, Bella agreed. She nodded her head and pressed her lips back against his. Her desire ran deep and she put it all into it. She had never felt anything as strong as this and she definitely didn't want to hold back. She tore off her new jacket and pressed closer to Damon, and for the first time in her life she gave into her desires.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm so sorry about the delay, but my internet was cut off. I just got it back over the weekend. I was able to read some fics on my phone, but I couldn't update. Then, I reread the chapter as I had written it a few weeks ago and decided to change it. This chapter took a completely different turn than what I had originally written, but I like it. The second part seems like a game of Cat & Mouse, no?

* - I know absolutely nothing about motorcycles, but I loved that Bella actually liked them. I didn't want her to get the used ones that were being thrown away so I looked for possible motorcycles that caught my eye. I typed in 'Seattle Motorcycles' into Google and one of the options was 'Ducati Seattle'. The final three choices after searching that caught my eye were the one I had chosen—the Suzuki Hayabusa Gen II—a Honda CBR600RR, and a Ducati 1098S.

** - I really liked Riley and since Victoria is dead, he's not going to get turned into a cold one. I will be bringing him back a few times but his fate is still undecided.

*** - No, there will be nothing romantic between Bella and Damon, it will strictly be sexual. With everything being heightened, Bella's desire is taking control of her and Damon is more than willing to help her quench it. They will have no romantic commitment towards each other and Bella will have others as well.


End file.
